1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer assisted access communication network designing system, a designing tool thereof, and a record medium from which a computer reads a program that causes the computer to accomplish the access communication network designing system. In particular, the present invention relates to a computer assisted access communication network system that calculates an access communication network structure and necessary civil construction facilities that are accomplished at low deployment costs and that satisfy a demand considering geographical shape, facility deployment position alternative, subscription demand, and existing facilities with limited conditions of communication quality, deployed positions of communication facilities, and so forth and relates to a designing tool thereof and a record medium from which a computer reads a program that causes the computer to accomplish the access communication network system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, computer assisted access communication network designing tools (systems) for LAN, mobile systems, backbone (high speed, long distance communication line) systems, CATV systems, and so forth have been placed particularly in the global market. In particular, mobile system designing tools with an automatic designing function (that allows a communication network structure to be automatically calculated corresponding to input data, geographic information, and so forth) have been increasingly used. On the other hand, designing work is computerized with CAD/CAM and the like. Thus, it is desired to use and improve a computer assisted access communication network designing system for designing a public telephone network, performing a recovery operation of an emergency public telephone line, and designing a local area network such as LAN or WAN.
As such prior art references, (1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei-4-316167, (2) paper by Hiroyuki Kawakami, 1996 Society Convention, xe2x80x9cThe Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers,xe2x80x9d Japan, B-792, and (3) paper by Hiroyuki Kawakami, 1997 Society Convention, The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, Japan, SB-8-9 have been disclosed.
In a conventional access communication network designing system, facilities are not clearly categorized as communication facilities and civil construction facilities thereof. Thus, when an access communication network is automatically designed with such a system, the designer cannot edit and define existing facilities.
In reality, when an access communication network is designed, its structure and deployment of facilities thereof should be calculated corresponding to geographical information, subscription demand information, facility information, and design parameter information with limited conditions such as communication quality assuming that the existing facilities are not present so that the deployment cost is reduced.
However, under such limited conditions, when a broad band access communication network is designed, existing communication facilities and civil construction facilities of a conventional narrow band access communication network cannot be re-used. In addition, the designer cannot freely define facility deployment position alternatives. Before the system automatically designs an access communication network, the designer cannot designate facility deployment positions. Moreover, the system cannot automatically design an additional network using a blank capacity with the existing facilities. Thus, the designer cannot limit the facility deployment positions and reduce the cost using the existing facilities with the system.
To solve such problems, the inventors of the present invention have filed a non-opened art reference as Japanese Patent Application No. 09-195100. This art reference is a designing system for designing an access communication network structure and deployment positions of facilities thereof at low deployment costs corresponding to design parameter information including geographic information, subscription demand information, facility information, and initial accommodation ratio in a design area, the designing system comprising a facility defining means for defining position information and facility information for communication facilities such as communication units, cables, and management/test systems and civil construction facilities such as ducts and overhead cable facilities; a facility deployment position alternative defining means for defining deployment position alternatives for communication/civil construction facilities; and an automatic designing means for prohibiting existing facilities from being moved or deleted corresponding to input/edited data or automatically calculated facility information and for automatically calculating an access communication network structure and necessary civil construction facilities at low deployment costs in an appending format and free from an influence of the accommodated lines.
The filed art reference allows the accuracy of the calculated results of a low cost access communication network structure to be improved and an exceptional deployment position to be designated. Thus, when the designer designates one type of appending design mode to each facility, the system performs a first appending designing function that does not affect existing facilities, a second appending designing function based on designed results, and a third appending designing function performed in many years.
In the designing method of the filed art reference, an access communication network structure can be calculated at low facility deployment cost at a time in an appending format corresponding to communication/civil construction facility information (such as geographic information, subscription demand information, and capacitance in a design area), existing communication/civil construction facility information, and facility deployment position alternative information.
However, the above-described art reference has the following problems.
As a first problem, even if a route at the minimum cost is obtained considering the binding of cables, the route contains many bends. Thus, such a route may not be suitable from views of management and maintenance. In other words, it is difficult for the designer to input the number of bends of the route before the system automatically designs a relevant access communication network. Even if the designer inputs the number of bends, since the number of spaces to be solved increases, the system takes a long time to calculate an access communication network at low deployment cost with given limited conditions.
As a second problem, when the designer edits/inputs a facility at a desired position and designates xe2x80x9cfixed modexe2x80x9d to the newly input facility as an existing facility, the cost of the newly input facility is not included in the total cost. Thus, the designer cannot know the cost of the newly input facility.
As a third problem, since the system designs an access communication network structure assuming that the land costs in the design area are the same, the accuracy of the designed results in an area whose land cost is dominant deteriorates.
An object of the present invention is to provide a designing method for designing an access communication network corresponding to limited conditions such as bends of a deigned route considering low deployment cost and low land costs. Another object of the present invention is a record medium from which a computer reads a program that causes the computer to perform the access communication network designing method.
To solve the above-described problems, the present invention is a system for calculating an optimum access communication network structure in an appending format considering geographic shape, facility deployment position alternatives, subscription demand, existing facilities, and so forth with a computer. In the system, along with xe2x80x9cfixed modexe2x80x9d for protecting existing facilities, xe2x80x9ctemporarily fixed modexe2x80x9d can be designated to each facility so as to reflect information that is difficult to clearly define (for example xe2x80x9ca route of a cable is preferably free from bendsxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ca management area (equivalent to a cluster) is preferably simply structuredxe2x80x9d) to final results.
A facility designated the xe2x80x9ctemporarily fixed modexe2x80x9d can be edited. However, the automatic designing portion assigns a blank capacity to a facility designated the xe2x80x9ctemporarily fixed modexe2x80x9d as a cost-free facility with high priority like an existing facility designated the xe2x80x9cfixed modexe2x80x9d. In the final total cost calculating process, the automatic designing portion appends a facility designated the xe2x80x9ctemporarily fixed modexe2x80x9d as an appended facility.
The xe2x80x9ctemporarily fixed modexe2x80x9d is used when the designer pre-assigns the position of a facility before the system automatically designs an access communication network. Alternatively, the xe2x80x9ctemporarily fixed modexe2x80x9d is used when the designer references data that has been automatically designed, designates a communication network structure corresponding to limited conditions, and causes the system to automatically design the access communication network.
Since the designer repeatedly inputs data and the system repeatedly calculates an access communication network corresponding to the data that is input by the designer, an access communication network can be accomplished at low deployment cost considering information that is difficult to clearly define as limited conditions before the system designs the access communication network.
Another feature of the present invention is in that facility deployment position alternative data has land cost information per unit area at each intersection so as to improve the calculated accuracy of an access communication network at low deployment cost.
A first aspect of the present invention is a designing method for designing an access communication network with a computer that automatically calculates the structure of the access communication network and deployment positions of facilities thereof at low deployment costs corresponding to design parameter information including geographical information, subscription demand information, facility information, and initial accommodation ratio in a design area, the method comprising the steps of reading a design file and inputting the existing facility information and the various parameter information, designating or canceling a fixed mode to or from the existing facility information, editing and inputting a temporarily fixed mode to an additional facility that has not been designed the fixed mode, assigning a demand to facilities that have been designated the fixed mode or the temporarily fixed mode and calculating the structure of the access communication network and the positions of facilities thereof at low deployment costs that satisfy limited conditions of the various parameter information that has been input at the inputting step, and storing the structure of the calculated access communication network and the positions of facilities thereof to the design file.
At the inputting step, the existing facility information and the various parameter information are input from a mode designating/canceling portion that designates xe2x80x9ctemporarily fixed modexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cfixed modexe2x80x9d to an attribute of each facility and each cluster or designates another mode thereto, a cluster defining portion that allows a cluster of a trunk station and a terminal station to be newly input and an existing cluster to be edited, and a land cost defining portion that allows a land cost per unit area to be input for each intersection.
A second aspect of the present invention is a designing method for designing an access communication network with a computer that automatically calculates the structure of the access communication network and deployment positions of facilities thereof at low deployment costs corresponding to design parameter information including geographical information, subscription demand information, facility information, and initial accommodation ratio in a design area, the method comprising the steps of reading a design file and inputting the existing facility information and the various parameter information, designating or canceling a fixed mode to or from the existing facility information, editing and inputting a temporarily fixed mode to an additional facility that has not been designed the fixed mode, assigning a demand to facilities that have been designated the fixed mode or the temporarily fixed mode and calculating the structure of the access communication network and the positions of facilities thereof at low deployment costs that satisfy limited conditions of the various parameter information that has been input at the inputting step, adding the cost of each facility that has been designated the temporarily fixed mode to the total cost of the existing facilities, and storing the structure of the access communication network and the positions of facilities thereof obtained at the calculating step and the costs of the facilities calculated at the cost calculating step to the design file.
A third aspect of the present invention is a designing tool for designing an access communication network with a computer that automatically calculates the structure of the access communication network and deployment positions of facilities thereof at low deployment costs corresponding to design parameter information including geographical information, subscription demand information, facility information, and initial accommodation ratio in a design area, the method comprising an inputting means for reading a design file and inputting the existing facility information and the various parameter information, a designating/canceling means for designating or canceling a fixed mode to or from the existing facility information, an editing/inputting means for editing and inputting a temporarily fixed mode to an additional facility that has not been designed the fixed mode, a calculating means for assigning a demand to facilities that have been designated the fixed mode or the temporarily fixed mode and calculating the structure of the access communication network and the positions of facilities thereof at low deployment costs that satisfy limited conditions of the various parameter information that has been input by the inputting means, and a storing means for storing the structure of the calculated access communication network and the positions of facilities thereof to the design file.
A forth aspect of the present invention is a record medium from which a computer reads a program that causes the computer to execute a designing method for designing an access communication network with the computer that automatically calculates the structure of the access communication network and deployment positions of facilities thereof at low deployment costs corresponding to design parameter information including geographical information, subscription demand information, facility information, and initial accommodation ratio in a design area, the method comprising the steps of reading a design file and inputting the existing facility information and the various parameter information, designating or canceling a fixed mode to or from the existing facility information, editing and inputting a temporarily fixed mode to an additional facility that has not been designed the fixed mode, assigning a demand to facilities that have been designated the fixed mode or the temporarily fixed mode and calculating the structure of the access communication network and the positions of facilities thereof at low deployment costs that satisfy limited conditions of the various parameter information that has been input at the inputting step, and storing the structure of the calculated access communication network and the positions of facilities thereof to the design file.
Next, with reference to a flow chart shown in FIG. 2, an outline of the designing method according to the present invention will be described. At step S21, the system reads a design file. The design file may include all information that is input/output in the designing process. At step S22, the designer adds information that is insufficient in the design file or modifies information in the design file. At step S23, when required, the designer inputs/edits existing facility information and designates/cancels the xe2x80x9cfixed modexe2x80x9d to/from each facility so as to protect the existing facilities. At step S24, the designer inputs/edits a desired non-existing facility to a desired position in the xe2x80x9ctemporarily fixed modexe2x80x9d. At step S25, the system assigns a demand to facilities assuming that facilities designated the xe2x80x9cfixed modexe2x80x9d and the xe2x80x9ctemporarily fixed modexe2x80x9d are cost-free and calculates an optimum (minimum code) communication network structure that satisfies the input limited conditions. At step S26, the designer compares the designed results with limited conditions that are difficult to clearly define. When the designer cannot satisfy the calculated results, the flow returns to step S24. Corresponding to the designed results and the limited conditions that are difficult to clearly define, the designer edits facilities and designates the xe2x80x9ctemporarily fixed modexe2x80x9d to the edited facilities. At step S25, the system activates the automatic designating portion. After interactively and repeating the designing operation, the flow advances to step S26. When the designer satisfies the designed results, he or she saves the design file and completes the designing operation.
Thus, designed results that are effectively affected with limited conditions that are difficult to clearly define in advance can be obtained by the automatic designing portion with the conventional algorithm.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of a best mode embodiment thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.